The blog for Sydney is going to be a long one, so I'm going to split it into 3 sections so you can choose the one/s that you want to read!The first section is about arriving in Sydney and the things we noticed coming back into a western country after 5 months of non western countries.The second section is the general blog about Sydney and the third section is my tips for doing Sydney on a budget.

Returning to the Western world

Our flight from Bangkok to Sydney was good, but unfortuately no free upgrades this time - we did try!There were some good movies though, but not enough time to watch all I wanted to see.It was also great to get some good, free red wine on the plane, as the flight we had from India did not serve alcohol.When we arrived in Sydney we were greeted by an Asian worker at the help desk, then an Asian driver for the shuttle, who's English was not great, so he asked all 20 of us about 5 times where we were going to and did several head counts.After asking us the 5th time where we were going, Graham and I looked at each other and said, have we actually landed in Australia, as the initial experience was not what we had expected.

So, what did we notice when returning to the western world....Firstly, as predicted, the prices.The exchange rate is not in our favour at the moment, so the already expensive Sydney is even more expensive to Brits at the moment.Hotels, taxi's, food, drink, tourist attractions, are all pretty expensive.This is why we decided to just come to Australia for 1 week!

The pavements are so wide here, and you can actually walk on them without fear of being run over by a scooter, tripping over someone having a nap, or falling down a hole!At nearly every corner there is a pedestrian crossing, and the cars actually stop at them!They even stop at zebra crossings and drive on the right (left) side of the road, following road rules.Pedestrians also wait for the 'green man' quite religiously, so much so that it makes you want to wait with them and not attempt to jay walk. We have not yet seen any animals apart from those in the wildlife park.No cows, chickens, pigs, cats, dogs, water buffaloes just wandering around.There is also a great diversity of people and fashion styles.In India we saw many colours, but everyone was wearing pretty much the same style of clothing.Here you can wear what you like and have what hair style you like, without causing offence or getting starred at too much.The men that are holding hand actually are gay, not just walking down the street with their best friend, and no one looks twice at them.Similarly I can hold hands with Graham, and even kiss in public - in some places in India we would have been arrested for this!

It is also really clean here.There were some places in S E Asia that were clean, but nothing like this.The sky and sea are so blue, and the grass and trees are so green and there is very little if any rubbish around.The best thing though is that there are proper, nice, clean toilets.They actually have toilet paper, soap, hand dryers, a toilet and a flush.No more squatting in the dark, having to scoop up water from a bucket to flush and trying to find some tissues in my bag, in the dark, and definately no communal toilets (yes they do have communal female squats in Asia!)

It's also nice to be able to go into 'normal' shops and supermarkets and shopping centres, where you can browse, pick things up, put things down, see the prices, try things on, without being hassled to buy things or having to haggle to get your item at a reasonable price.It was also nice to see clothes and shoes in our sizes.This is something I really began to miss in Asia, so much so that I've bought a coat, some trousers and a scarf!

Saying all of that though, I'm going to miss Asia and it's ways, particularly the variety of animals one could bump into during the day and the haggling, but I'm not going to miss communal toilets!

Sydney Blog

Sydney is such a beautiful city, and so easy to walk around.Even though it is winter, every day we have had blue skies and bright sunshine, with very crisp and fresh air which has been a little chilly at times.If we had arrived straight from England we would have thought this was glorious weather, but coming from the heat we've had for the last 5 months we felt the cold and have bought some winter clothes.The only rain we saw was as we sat on the plane ready to leave.We have walked for miles, around Circular Harbour and Darling Harbour, around Hyde Park and the Botanical Gardens, over the Harbour Bridge and to the Opera House, and just generally around the city centre.There are statues and sculptures everywhere, and many fountains and water features.We have visited the Contemporary Art Gallery, the Observatory, and the Maritime Museum - the last being particularly good.

We also took a day trip to the Blue Mountains, which included various other things too.The advantage of it being winter is that there are fewer tourists around, so the trips were all half price.So, we got the bus to the Blue Mountains at Katoomba and saw the '3 sisters' rocks.We then went on the Scenic Skyway ride, then the World's steepest scenic railway, walked through a forest and came back on the scenic cableway.We then had a fantastic all you can eat buffet lunch in a revolving restaurant, and at last Graham got Tiramisu (as much as he could eat).It's his favourite desert, and he's not had any since leaving England - and those of you who know Graham will know what a sweet tooth he has!We then went to Featherdale Wildlife Park, where I got to stroke a koala bear and feed the kangaroos.It's really well set out, with many of the animals free to wander around if they choose to - not the Dingos or Tasmanian Devil's though!On the way home we visited the 2000 Olympic Village, then took a sunset boat ride ride back to Sydney Harbour.All this for about 50.00GBP each, so not bad for Australian prices.

We also spent time watching many of the street artists around the harbour and went to an outdoor evening event called 'Fire Water' which was a dance/drama piece about an Indian settler's voyage to Sydney, so there was a Bollywood influence to the performance.It was set on the harbour side at the "Rocks" and involved floating platforms and ships, and many fire displays and performers.We went to Paddy's market one day, to buy gifts and souvenirs, and spent much time there chatting to an ex-pat, as well as another guy at a different street stall/market.

On our last day we went to Manly Beach.We took the ferry there and walked through town to the surf beach.There were a few people in the sea, even some without wetsuits.We then walked round to Cabbage Tree Bay, and had a paddle in the sea.I would love to come in summer, as the sea looked fantastic and there is a natural swimming pool too, to protect you from the sharks!I did begin to regret not putting my swimwear on that day, but the water was freezing.

Maggie's Guide to doing Sydney on a Budget

Now I know I sound like my mother here, but I thought this might be useful!

·Read the lonely planet in bookshops or at the airport (this killed some time at Bangkok for me!)Note any good cheap places to eat, etc (We found Betty's Soup Kitchen on Oxford Street through this) and it will tell you which tourist attractions are free.

·If you are travelling in a couple, check out the chain hotel rates, as they can often be cheaper than the hostels for a double en suite room.We stayed at Travelodge and got a Queen Room, with sofa/sitting area, dining area, kitchenette and bathroom for $99 a night, as we stayed more than 5 nights.This may not sound cheap, but when you look at the prices of hostels you'll realise that nothing is, and with a kitchenette you can save money by preparing your own meals, as eating out in Sydney is really expensive.

·Shop around. Get groceries at Woolworths, as 7 Elevens are expensive (not like in Thailand).Internet prices also vary a lot.The cheapest we found was $1.50 an hour, whereas our hotel charged $1 for 10 minutes.We also found one of the kiosks on Circular Key sells their ice creams for $2 less than all the others.

·Find free WiFi.We were surprised at how difficult it is to find this in Sydney.The only place we did find was McDonalds!

·Walk.Sydney is a really walkable city, with lots of nice parks and city sculptures to look at.

·Look out for free events - street artists and performances.

·Visit free museums and galleries (Contemporary Art Gallery, Observatory and Maritime Museum are free).

·Buy souvenirs at Paddy's market, not the gift stores.

·Do a tour which combines lots of things into one package, as this makes it cheaper.

Hope all is well back at home and you are all enjoying the World Cup (We've been watching it in the middle of the night here).

Maggie x